Something good about our bad streak

I assume by now everyone knows that i've been hating our repetitive and extreme low risk system, 100% of the plays along the boards and dump and chase and play pucks off the glass all the time, and we would only see the guys going creative when we we're trailing late in a game or something.

But in the last few games its clear Deboer adjusted the system, we we're WAY TOO predictable before. So we've seen some really nice plays and passing. Last game even though we lost the guys made so many nice breakouts from their zone and great rush and good zone entries.

We would always start from the back of the net... send the puck around the board so the winger (around the hashmarks) would ship it along the boards passed the guys on his back out of the zone and the center would have to rush to try to get the puck or the opposing team dman would just take and it and come back at us. And for our zone entry we'd either dump and chase or skate the puck in trying to get to the corner and barely try to go inside for a shot.

So all game yesterday it was clear that they changed that, guy would chip the puck to the guy inside so he can skate out with it and they made plenty of cross neutral zone passed and attacked through the middle for shots.

guys are a LOT MORE fun to watch that way. Kovalchuk was really fun to watch especially cause he was able to do more and not strictly was he was asked to do and he could play his offensive game a little bit more so he was obviously more dangerous.

I've definitely noticed the change in play, a lot has to do with confidence. Maybe not so much Deboer changing the system but a little tweek to make it more effective and the players have to confidence to execute.

Green, Harrold and Zids on each pairing gives us at least one set of quick feet defensively, guys who are not afraid to "take it up". it gets the forwards thinking north! larsson is slowy trying, still a bit sluggish or timid, but he had one this game where I said, "thats the way its done"

It was def noticeable in the 1st flyers game, I don't know if that was a concious decision made by the coaching staff/team or if it was just very easy to take what was given to us in the moment. Tonight we aren't really seeing that much of a different style than our "predictable" dump and chase, cycle pucks to the blue line.

It was def noticeable in the 1st flyers game, I don't know if that was a concious decision made by the coaching staff/team or if it was just very easy to take what was given to us in the moment. Tonight we aren't really seeing that much of a different style than our "predictable" dump and chase, cycle pucks to the blue line.

agreed but still saw a few flashes of the guys trying different stuff. But yeah they definitely went back to that ol' thing.

They still do the same play of skating around the net, chip it down the boards to the D and then they cross-ice pass to their d partner and they either shoot or play back along the boards behind the net. ALL the time.

Its mindblowing how just a little adjustement is making. Ive been bitching about our breakouts for 2 season now, the winger would be waiting on the board at the hashmarks with the guy on his back and would always try to get the puck between the player and the board and chip it to the blueline which was leading to the other team getting the puck almost every time. Nd if we did get the puck wed stay along the same board and would dump as soon wed get to the red line.

Now the center rush to get a square pass get out of the zone and make a cross neutral zone pass to the winger on the other side and we have clean breakouts almost every time. Its a real beauty.